October 2005

"The Education Ministry has announced more sweeping plans for the country's education system, focused on free economic zones. The ministry and a vocational education institute said yesterday that Korean schools in those proposed economic zones - not the international schools that the government wants to attract there - will begin in 2008 to teach all their classes in English as part of a language immersion program. That program will be a trial, the ministry said, using an English-speaking and a Korean-speaking teacher in each classroom. If the trial proves successful, the ministry continued, the program would be applied to all middle schools in Korea. Although the announcement was unclear, the intent was apparently to use teaching teams in all schools and not to make all Korean middle schoolers attend classes only in English. But in the zones and in the "free-trade city" of Jeju island, all public schools would do so. The ministry said, without giving timetables, that it wanted to shift the school year to begin in September, apparently to synchronize it with the schedules of schools and colleges in many other countries. English instruction would begin in the first grade rather than the third, and children would enter the first grade at age 5, a year earlier than at present."

(NOTE: We wonder how the mechanics will work. Foreign English teachers are in the public schools, but very few remain in Korea over one year. Many schools have turned to contracts with "hagwons" that employ foreign English teachers and farm them out to the schools. Only the private schools or Christian Missionary Schools (CMS) are able to retain teachers for longer periods.

An example of the ideal international school is CheongShim International School in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi province. It said that over 1,700 students have applied for places at the school, which will open in March 2006, meaning only one out of every 8.5 applicants will be accepted. The school teaches all classes except Korean language and Korean history in English, and will admit 200 students as first graders at its middle and high school. Applicants included students with special abilities in foreign languages or who studied for over two years abroad, winners of international competitions and those recommended by school principals. Only one out of 21 of the latter will be accepted as 1,050 students applied for 50 places. All candidates for the high school had interviews in English. The school was founded by the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification to cultivate international specialists with global competency, Lee Jong-hyo, the school's president, said. Over 30 percent of the staff are native English speakers and its Korean teachers are also able to teach classes in English. The school plans to offer trips to prestigious colleges around the world and exchange programs for its students and teachers with other overseas schools. (Source: Joongang Ilbo, 15 Dec 2005.)

"The program is part of long-term measures to improve the nation's human resources between 2006-2010. Students in the regions will take regular school subjects in English in the English immersion program. The ministry will oblige students to take a second foreign language beside English in accordance with regional needs. Students living in Pusan adjacent to Japan, for example, are likely to be required to take Japanese, while students living in Inchon near China will likely learn Chinese. The ministry will also recruit English speakers as assistant teachers in all middle schools nationwide by 2010 in an effort to enhance English conversation and English teaching skills. Also, the ministry will reform the current school year system so that schools begin the academic year in September rather than in March by 2010 to coordinate with foreign educational institutions. The policy is designed to help schools prepare students for higher education and the job market.

Currently, schools are operated under the 6-3-3-4 system which means six years for elementary school, three each for middle and high school and four years for university. Last November, the Korea Educational Development Institute recommended that the government adopt a 5-3-4-4 school system by reducing elementary school years to five from the current six and extending high school by a year to four years. ``The school year reform was adopted as the current school year system reduces the nation's competitiveness by delaying students by one year compared to students in other countries,'' a ministry official said.

The ministry is also planning to expand the current 30 percent support for five-year-old children in preschools and kindergartens to full supports by 2010. In 2010, five-year-old children at public kindergartens and private kindergartens will receive free-of-charge education with full support from the government."

SITE NOTE: The fallacy is that TOEIC is American English (general American accent) and many Korean teachers learned under the British-based "high-tongue" sound system. A look in the bookstore will show the large volume of British texts with tapes from Longman and Oxford Press. Thus the TOEIC may not be an accurate test of listening for the teachers.

Second, the Koreans are believing the hype of Educational Testing Service (ETS) the company that packages TOEIC. According to materials produced by TOEIC, "TOEIC Test of English for International Communication: Report on Test Takers Worldwide: 2002-03," the test is most often in Japan and Korea, with Japan taking 72% of the tests and Korea with 15%. The point is that the test, though offered all over the world, is mainly an Asian test. It is test of a limited range of language skills for a limited group of consumers. The test was designed by the U.S. company ETS, which also developed the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), in 1979 at the request of the Japanese Ministry of Trade and Industry, and is given in roughly 60 nations worldwide. Korea adopted the test in 1982, when 1,300 examinees took it. Since then, with the exception of 1998 and the following year, the number of takers has steadily risen, with about 760,000 taking it in 2000 and 1.83 million in 2004 -- a massive chunk of the 4.5 million who took the exam worldwide last year. In 2005, Korea became the number one user of the TOEIC test.

In Dec 2005, it was revealed that research conducted on 17 national universities, including Pusan and Kyungpook National Universities. Most universities use the test to evaluate students' English proficiency. Kongju National University provides "TOEIC Scholarships" for students with high scores and 12 universities that accept students with special ability in foreign languages ask for TOEIC scores. However, by attending TOEIC test preparation courses one can improve one's scores without any real improvement in English competency. In other words, students are learning how to take the TOEIC test -- not learning English. English professors also pointed out that students with high scores (over 800 ? a perfect score is 990) show weakness in English speaking and writing abilities, and their English skills don't improve before graduation as they study English only for the test.

(NOTE: As someone who taught TOEIC for many years, I also developed my own "formula" method of taking the test which I taught to students. The test questions repeated themselves and it was fairly easy to guess the correct answer if one studied the basic grammar structure -- without any understanding of what the statement meant. The test was also broken down into the grammar groups (i.e., Subject-Verb Match) so it was easy to spot the questions testing point. They also clustered questions in groups so it was easier to spot the testing point. The same cannot be said for TOEFL which is in a separate category and made for college entrance. But in my defense, I also combined Business English - Conversational English in the same courses to give the students a broader use of English.)

Despite growing criticism, the TOEIC had managed to retain its position as the leading means of evaluating English skills of jobseekers in Korea for many years. But now the test, which has no reading and writing sections and consists largely of formulaic multiple-choice questions, may have come to the end of its extended run. Many companies are now doing away with the TOEIC requirement and instead relying on face-to-face English interviews to see how an applicant would deal with real situations in English. (Source: Chosun Ilbo, 5 Dec 2005.) In fact, at Dec 2005 the 1,200 applicants for low-level Seoul Metropolitan Government positions will face an English interview for the first time. At interviews applicants were asked to give a 2-minute speech on one of five topics that were announced in advance. The English test is one of several interviews evaluating such things as an applicant's professional knowledge and logical thinking. English skills will be graded as high, medium or low. The intent is to "recruit officials with practical English speaking ability." (Source: Joongang Ilbo, 7 Dec 2005.)

(NOTE: The EBS textbooks is a subject in itself. The sale of the EBS textbooks are the major source for student self-study -- and about 70 percent of students use the EBS materials. EBS airs online lectures and publishes more than 400 study materials for students -- with resultant large profits for the non-profit organization. In Nov 2005, the National Assembly found that the EBS has been "falsifying claims" that since 2003, "over 80 percent of questions" from the national college entrance exam were taken from its educational materials. However, the Education Ministry states it uses questions "similar to" those on the EBS. In 2003, the Education Ministry began allowing some national exam questions to be extracted from EBS studying materials. It was a way to help families reduce private education costs. (Source: Asia Media, Korea Herald.))

The routine leading up to the big day is just as egregious. It has long been said that you must get by on four hours of sleep to aim for a place in the SKY. Five hours just do not cut it. Hence the spectacle of doting mums plying their haggard offspring with coffee at midnight as they return from the ubiquitous hagwon, or cram school, and again at 5.30 a.m. the next day before they head off to the hagwon again before regular school.

In recent years, the pressure has extended from high school back to primary school, or even earlier. Even tiny tots now have hagwon to get that vital edge in English - a language that strangely few South Koreans seem comfortable using, given that they study it for more than a decade. Families even move house to be closer to good schools and the most successful crammers.

In a study last year by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which groups most of the world's richest countries, Seoul placed first in problem-solving, second in reading, third in math and fourth in science. It has 2.6 million college students in a population of 48 million, the world's second highest ratio.

Yet success comes at a price - literally. With not only hagwon but high schools charging fees, education eats up a major chunk of family budgets. According to the central Bank of Korea, household spending on private education rose 7.3 percent last year from 7.4 trillion won ($7.1 billion) in 2003. The 5.8 percent of their incomes which South Koreans spend on education is more than twice as high as in any other OECD country.

Many South Koreans also fear another cost: a loss of childhood, with years of evenings and weekends devoured by studying. Some are voting with their feet. Last year, more than 16,000 South Korean children were sent abroad for schooling. The figure has risen fourfold since 2000.

Called kirogi, or wild geese, this path is also costly (but often cheaper than hagwon) and splits families: mum takes the children, while dad stays behind working to pay for it.

Yet ever more parents reckon schooling in Canada, Australia or elsewhere will give their children a less forced, more rounded education - and a better life. With a further 150,000 South Koreans at universities abroad, the cost to Seoul's balance of payments now nears $2 billion a year. That could be eased if foreign schools set up shop in South Korea, as they do in Singapore. But in South Korea, nationalist worries have so far kept education market opening to a minimum.

Statistically, South Korean education is a success. Yet it is also in crisis.

No stakeholder is happy. Parents resent the cost and competitiveness, but most feel forced to use hagwon, not least because regular schools feature large classes, rote learning and corporal punishment. School teachers resent their low pay and status; some engage in leftist indoctrination, as in an anti-capitalist teachers' union video that surfaced at the APEC summit in Busan.

With 10 education ministers since 1998 (three in January alone), the government is seen widely as part of the problem. Fixated on an egalitarian agenda, President Roh Moo-hyun and his Uri Party seem keener to punish the SKY trio for taking more pupils from elite schools (who get better results) than to try to raise the performance of the more lackluster majority.

In a further irony, the objects of so much desire are not themselves world-class universities. Seoul National just scrapes into the global top 100, at 93rd. Here again, foreign competition would raise their game. By restricting this, and despite success in cloning and other fields, South Korea now risks not producing enough scientists or engineers - most students go for arts subjects - and so falling behind more open economies in the knowledge race that will determine the new century's industrial winners and losers. Even China is now less closed.

According to Korea IT Times in Mar 2004, "The new scheme, to be implemented from 2008, places more weight on high-school records while reducing the importance of tests of scholastic ability. Its stated purpose of enhancing the creative learning abilities of students by normalizing school education while also curbing costly off-campus tutoring is commendable. As past experience shows, however, the latest revision will achieve only limited success in addressing relevant problems as long as the fundamental social structures and values remain unchanged. And even a partial solution would require detailed plans and close cooperation among all involved parties.

By turning the SAT results into grades instead of scores, it would become harder for universities to differentiate between applicants. This will force universities to emphasize individual essays and interviews, which in turn would lead to more private tutoring aimed at raising scores for these subjects as well as in school exams.

Another point is how effectively and objectively the already overburdened high-school teachers can handle school records free from the influence of bribing parents."

The problem with Roh's egalitarian form of education -- where everyone has the same opportunity -- is REALITY. The equalization of education is a basic principle of social justice in a democracy, securing equal chances for all. However, in reality it is an unworkable principle when applied as an "anti-elite" education policy. The equalization of education principle can be justified only when it guarantees fair competition among students by giving them equal opportunity. Roh's anti-elite education policy infringes on the university's autonomy to recruit its own students -- which deals with maintaining a school's academic standards that in turn draws public donations, government grants, and monies from industry.

In a nutshell, "equalization" does NOT mean "standardization." In "standardization" all schools are ideally brought up to a standard -- making all schools equally ranked. However, in reality "standardization" is simply a method to plot the ability of students and schools to attain a certain "standard" of achievement. Wealthy area schools will meet or exceed the standard, while poor rural areas will be below the standard. In "equalization" all students are given the equal opportunity to attend the first tier institutions of higher learning. It is an artificial method to attempt to bypass the educational "standard" and allow selected students who do NOT meet the standard to enter top knotch universities. The Roh equalization policy would cause the quality of domestic education to be lowered and cause a drop in scholastic excellence of university freshmen as a whole.

Most Koreans have been reluctant to endorse an "elite" education system because they worry that the system would differentiate the quality of education based on the income of the students' family. However, the reality is that the "elite" education system is in place in Korea as well as throughout the developed countries of the world. It is a fact that "rich" children get higher scores in college admission tests, with a 26-point gap between the "Haves" and the "Have-nots" in Korea. There is a correlation between income and test scores which relates to the amount of money "rich" parents spend on the private tutoring for university entrance preparation. As test scores area directly related to the college one attends, it is logical to assume that it is "hereditary" for rich children to attend the top knotch schools -- given that innate intelligence factors of the students are the same. Roh's policy will NOT eliminate this gap unless he eliminates the accumulated wealth of the rich -- an insane proposition at best.

The 2008 college entrance exam will ignore any gaps among schools and stresses school recommendations. As a result, independent high schools have been plunged into crisis. Some 56, or 88 percent, of 64 seniors in humanities at Hyundae Cheongun High School gained grade 1 in the nationwide mock exam in March. But only three would get grade 1 in transcripts from their own school, whose standards are higher. Seventeen Hyundae Cheongun freshmen and 31 Sangsan freshmen have swiftly moved to other high schools in a bid to avert such disadvantages. (Source: Chosun Ilbo, 14 Dec 2005.) In other words, the insanity is that under the Roh administration plan, the top five percent of a top-ranked high school in Korea is equal to the top five-percent of the bottom-ranked high school in the nation. Especially hard hit will be the private high schools which maintain the highest standards.

Roh's educational policy attempts to take away the wealth advantage and cripple the "hagwon cram school" system. The Straits Times / Asia News Network stated, "Fixated on an egalitarian agenda, President Roh Moo-hyun and his Uri Party seem keener to punish the SKY trio (Seoul National, Korea and Yonsei universities) for taking more pupils from elite schools (who get better results) than to try to raise the performance of the more lackluster majority." The government's attempts to use the EBS materials to standardize the entrance tests giving all students the opportunity to excel WITHOUT the cram schools. In theory, it is a worthwhile proposition. In reality, it lowers the standards for passing the college entrance exam -- thereby lowering the standards of a university. This is the reason that the top notch schools are demanding the use of other qualifiers (i.e., interviews and essay tests) besides the SCAT results for entrance to their schools.

In the 1950s, there were very few students who graduated from even middle school and a high school graduate was qualified to teach elementary school. At that time the concept of egalitarian education started with compulsory education for elementary school to try to get the students to relearn the Korean language after the Japanese stopped the teaching of subjects in Korean in 1931. After the Korean War, their was limited funds in the poor country. Korea retained its education system based on the Japanese model simply because it was the system that had been embued into the country. During the postwar days, students crammed into makeshift schools and sometimes it operated in shifts as the demand for education was so high. Slowly more middle schools, then high schools and then colleges were opened to meet the growing demand for an education. Because Korea during the 1960s-1970s remained a poor third world country, very little resources could be allocated for universities. It was during this period that the distorted system of college education was implemented. Soon the universities became known as "cowbone towers" meaning that their was no substantive learning being done there. Instead, the university life was a time to make social contacts that would remain for the rest of one's life. The more prestigious the university, the more elite the circle of contacts -- and companies flocked to obtain these graduates from the top universities. The companies handled their own training in-house and the system was known as "cradle-to-the-grave" where the company took care of its company men -- even in retirement.

In the early 1980s, the effects of the Miracle of the Han started to appear throughout Korea. More national universities were added as the college age population remained high. There was growing affluence and more spendable income. Families invested in the education of their children -- but unfortunately, the better schools were centered in Seoul. Thus families started to relocate to Seoul for the sake of their children -- many times the father working in one area, while the mother and children resided in Seoul. Despite the turbulence on the campuses during the Democracy movement led by students of the 1980s, improvements were made in upgrading the educational standards of the universities and colleges. Especially significant was the growth of two year colleges to handle the growing need for specialists, technicians and skilled tradesmen.

In the 1980s, the ROK government with limited funds attempted to focus on "A college degree" versus "a substantive degree" in engineering or science. One engineer would cost the same for 10 humanities students. Instead of supporting the sciences, the ROK focused on allowing college education to the majority -- and then turning the technical education aspects over to the companies. In fact, the companies preferred this way to "grow" their own personnel as the company system was still under the "cradle-to-the-grave" support system. This educational system in effect allowed a distorted educational system to develop.

By 1985, Korea had 262 colleges and universities with nearly 1.5 million enrolled students. Despite the changing employment environment, the colleges continued to pump out graduates with humanities degrees. Korea has the most graduates with PhDs and Masters in the world -- but sadly we learn that these degrees are mostly in the humanities -- and not in demand by the companies. Korea became filled with unemployed PhD and Masters holders simply because their degrees were worthless. (NOTE: An interesting side note was that from 1995 onward there was a jump in two year college enrollments as these jobless 4-year degree holders went back to 2-year junior colleges to get "useful" degrees (i.e., optometry).) Even now, it is not uncommon for holders of advanced degrees to take jobs that are well-below their educational level ... simply because there are few jobs where their degrees apply.)

When the ROK entered the WTO and OECD in the 1990s, things changed dramatically in Korea. "Globalization" suddenly became a catchword to describe the direction Korea was headed. Companies changed their operations and thinking to match those of developed countries. The old "cradle-to-the-grave" system disappeared along with the old-style "company man." By 1995, the major corporations were no longer interested doing their own in-house training and at first tried to finance the training of engineers and scientists at universities in conjunction with grants. The system proved to be a success. It cost 62 million won per person to educate new employees, according to a recent survey conducted over 536 Korean companies by the Korea Employers Federation. It was simply cost efficient and simpler to hire these skills "off the shelf." The chaebols then turned to the major universities and colleges to provide funding for programs that would turn out the graduates to fill their future needs and provided private funding for setting up of laboratories and hiring of top-quality educators.

Then the declining birthrate problem kicked in during the 2000s. The birthrate had declined in the ROK and by 2004 there were announcements that Korea had a "non-viable" society -- meaning that it did not possess the future tax base to survive. At the same time, there were 361 colleges and universities in Korea, with a total enrolled student population of 2.8 million -- BUT THE ENROLLMENT FIGURES WERE DECLINING.

The number of college students in South Korea will decrease by 1-1.5 million in 30 years, forcing large-scale restructuring at universities. The number of college students and graduate students will decrease from the current 2.4 million to 2 million in 2020, 1.5 million in 2035 and 1 million in 2060. Korea Development Institute (KDI) recommends that colleges start restructuring by 2010. (Source: Korea Times, 1 Dec 2005.)

The immediate problem was that schools from elementary to college were closing as student populations dwindled. The KDI report shows the trend up and down the educational chain from elementary through colleges. Given the current aging trend and the number of schools nationwide, the number of middle school students will decrease from 2008 and high school students from 2011. The number of elementary school students is already on the decline from last year. The country recruited 4,084 teachers for elementary schools this year, but the number should be cut to 2,400 by 2025. By 2025, the number of recruits in teaching positions at middle and high schools should be cut from 3,019 in 2005 to 1,882, and 3,991 in 2005 to 2,556, respectively. (Source: Korea Times, 1 Dec 2005.)

To the hard-pressed universities and colleges, especially those located in the provinces away from the major cities, this meant that there was a shrinking pool of college age students. Competition to attract these students became fierce. The small national universities or colleges with 2,000-5,000 students cannot survive without government funding assistance. However, along with it came strings -- such as the acceptance of the Roh government's educational plan.

Sohn Byung-doo, the first CEO-turned-university president in Korea, advocates a business-oriented mindset in schools and has vowed to turn his Sogang University into the nation's top private university that raises students who are useful to society. Sohn said, "In fact, Korea University and Yonsei University preoccupied the domestic fundraising market. We will glean the leftovers, but little drops of water make a mighty ocean." Sohn said half of the money will come from companies and the rest from the government. "No one will give us money for free. It is like a give and take. We will provide excellent students and research work in return for money," Sohn said. (Source: Jul 2005 Swiss Biotech Association.)

Robert Laughlin, the American Nobel physics laureate and president of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) espouses this view. Song Ja, Yonsei University's former president, is considered to be the originator of the businessman-like presidents by attracting 150 billion won during his term from 1992-1996 based on his huge network of business contacts. Euh Yoon-dae, president of Korea University, also said 80 percent of his work is to attract funds for the development of the school, and made a whopping 250 billion won since he was appointed in early 2003. Though Korea University's students protested, Korea University awarded an honorary doctorate to Samsung Group head Lee Kun-hee in return for his donation of 40 billion won to the school. (Source: Jul 2005 Swiss Biotech Association.)

According to Korea Times on 3 Dec 2005, "A number of countries have already allowed their universities to be listed. The United Kingdom, Australia and China are among such countries. Currently more than 40 universities have their shares traded on the tech-heavy U.S. Nasdaq. Japan partially endorsed a similar bill last year with the aim to bolster the global competitiveness of its higher educational services.

Some professors have long insisted that the Korean government could help significantly improve educational quality at local universities without much investment by permitting universities to operate on a profit basis and letting them offer their stocks on the bourse. They said allowing universities to make profits would not only make fundraising by universities more expedient, thus enabling them to make timely investments, but allow them to adopt the innovative management methods of profitable corporations."

Korea to Issue ID Cards for Illegals in U.S.

The Korean government will issue ID cards for Koreans staying illegally in the U.S. in a bid to make a problem that is likely here to stay more manageable, Seoul's Embassy in Washington said in a statement Sunday.

The Korean Consulate in Los Angeles has agreed with city officials to issue consular identification cards for illegal aliens who have otherwise no way of proving their identity. The cards will list their nationality, birth date and address in a move expected to make life easier for visa overstayers. Implementation is slated for the middle of next year and could be expanded across the U.S. later.

There are an estimated 140,000 illegal Korean residents living in the U.S., compared to several million from Latin America. One problem with the planned IDs is that they identify their holders as illegal immigrants, while there are also fears and they could encourage illegal immigration. But an embassy source said the LA city government has made it clear that the program is not an effort to crack down on illegal immigrants.

Mexico, which accounts for the largest influx of illegal residents in the U.S., already operates a similar system.

This is the system to bypass the immigration laws -- simply a scam operation fostered by governments with high amounts of illegal aliens in the US -- and don't want them back. With the ID, the illegal can receive a Social Security Number, then a driver's license, then official residence certificate -- and become a hidden tax-paying legal resident. This is a well-known scam used by the Mexican authorities to deal with a problem that they cannot control.

The Korean government admits that there are 140,000 illegal Korean aliens in the US and now wants to issue them ID cards to make their life more comfortable in the US. In other words, it is planning to perpetuate the same scam that the Mexican and other Latin American consulates have done.

(SITE NOTE: Our opinion is that the US State Department should NOT allow this to happen as it has allowed to happen with other consulates. The matter should be coordinated with the INS who have now received a Congressional mandate in 2004 that ALL illegal aliens MUST be deported. However, to subpoena all the records of a foreign government would be impossible -- but it will be possible to subpoena all the LA County records for all individuals using their "consulate ID" cards. It is time to round them up and ship them home. The law needs to be changed that an "anchor baby" can claim his/her US citizenship at age of "majority" -- when they can either chose their home country or US citizenship. It is time for the US to stop paying lip-service and take action.)

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Education Law to Hobble Private Schools (Nov 2005-Dec 2005) But the educational wars continue over a move by the Uri Party to assert government control over the private schools. Privately-run colleges and universities as well as primary, middle and high schools have been struggling against the new school reform bill. The bill originally put forward by the ruling Uri party contained a provision for filling one-third of a private school's executive board members with those recommended by school teachers and parents of students. The bill was designed to improve the transparency of school management and prevent abuse of power and irregularities by school owners according to the Uri Party. The bill also requires school owners to cut back on the number of family members on the board of trustees to one fourth of the total, from the current one third. Under the revision, family members of school owners would not be allowed to become a principal of a school. The bill will also tighten restrictions on directors and principals involved in corruption.

However, lawmakers of the GNP blocked the bill on grounds that it would not only infringe upon the independence of private school foundations, but also result in the government's taking control of private schools. The reaction of many private school owners was that they would rather close the schools than agree to the new regulations. Currently, independent high schools can admit students according to their own criteria and enjoy a wide range of discretion in the curriculum. They argued that if such a committee is set up at private schools, committee members will intervene in budget and management affairs and school owners will be forced to transfer their long-held power to them. Representatives from private schools threatened to close their schools if the bill is passed and file a petition to the Constitutional Court, claiming that the revision bill may infringe on private ownership. They argued that the bill runs counter to the Constitution by excessively restricting the basic rights of school owners by requiring that the schools' boards be filled with directors recommended by school committees.

In Dec 2005, a compromise proposal failed and the measure's passage stalled. With the approval of Millennium Democratic Party, the Democratic Labor Party, and National Assembly Speaker Kim Won-ki, the ruling party assured the passage of the private school bill mediation proposal in the general session. The Uri Party railroaded the bill through amid violent attempts to physically block the Speaker from taking the platform (a requirement for a bill's passage). The vote passed with 140 lawmakers in favor, 10 abstentions and four against -- as the GNP walked out after the Speaker took the platform. GNP floor leader Kang Jae-seop hinted he could quit the party post, saying he would take responsibility for the “illegal” passage of the bill. After the bill was passed, the GNP stormed out of the National Assembly leaving the 2006 budget and extension of the Iraq troops in limbo. (NOTE: Out of the total 299 assembly seats, the governing Uri takes up 144 counting the support from the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) and Democratic Party (formerly MDP), followed by the GNP's 127. On 27 Dec, the bills were passed though the GNP continued to boycott the session.)

Private schools are also up in arms about the bill. Owners have warned they will appeal to the Constitutional Court, stage a campaign to reject the law, stop accepting new students for 2006 and close down schools. They said they would initially close schools for one day in December but called it off. The bill is scheduled to go into effect on 1 July 2006. The Korea Private School Foundation Association issued a statement last Friday that the revised bill is bringing about a crisis in Korean private schools and education as a whole, claiming that it is a clear violation of their right to autonomy. They argue that the bill runs counter to their constitutional rights to pursue their own educational vision and hampers their autonomy, adding that school management will play into the hands of the hard-line unionized teachers.

• The bill also requires school owners to cut back on the number of family members on the board of directors from the current one third to one fourth of the total. Private school operators have argued that the bill will deprive them of the traditional functions of the board of directors to manage school budgets and appoint faculty members.
• Under the revision, school owners would not be allowed to become principals of schools. Also a four-year tenure system will be introduced in principal positions at private schools in the same way as national and public schools have operated.
• School accounting and budgeting will be required to be reviewed under the special committees before being approved by the board of directors.
• When the bill goes into effect, dismissed board members will be banned from returning to their positions for five years, instead of the current two years.
• The board members could not dismiss a teacher for joining the Korean Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (KTU).

The Association of Private Middle and High Schools vowed to fight the new law as unconstitutional. They stated they would file a complaint with the Constitutional Court and not comply with the law until a decision has been made by the court. In addition they sent a petition to President Roh to veto the law. The government said in response to the Association's threats, it was illegal for schools to close and not accept new students. If schools refuse to comply with orders to return to normal operations, the authorities will consider canceling the appointment of current school boards and send interim board members tapped by the government to normalize their operations.

Despite government threat, the Seoul and Daegu chapters of the Association of Private School Foundations decided to admit no more students at their board meetings on 16 Dec 2005. They also will not to accept government subsidies for school management. But while refusing financial support from the government, the Seoul branch of the KPSFA decided to demand the lifting of the tuition fee cap on private schools. They are the first chapters to make good on a threat from the association made after the law was passed. In Seoul, private middle schools account for 30.3 percent or 110 of a total of 363 and private high schools for a massive 65.4 percent or 140 of 214 high schools. In Daegu, there are 34 private middle schools out of 117 and 49 private high schools out of 84. Thus the impacts to the school systems will be significant -- if not catastrophic as the public school systems in Seoul and Taegu cannot absorb so many students. Because the new high school student selection process for 2006 starts in Dec 2005, and because private schools account for roughly half of all schools, the high school admissions process will suffer major disruptions if the private schools actually push ahead with their resolution.

In response, education offices of Seoul and Daegu decided that if the private schools refused to accept new students, legal action, such as dismissing headmasters, dissolving boards of directors and appointing temporary directors to the schools, would be taken. The battle lines were being drawn in Dec 2005.


Private School Protest

On 14 Dec it was reported that GNP Chairman Park Geun-hye met with religious leaders and their response supported the move to derail the education law. Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan warned “education itself” could be compromised by the reform bill. The president of the Christ